This past week I made my first voyage to California. Just me, Mike the Mini, tunes from Tomahawk Bang, a Polaroid camera, and some day dreams of becoming a Ninja. Along the way I was challenged, inspired, stunned, and learned a few things:

1. I need to surround myself with more color, patterns, light. I need more beauty. The emotional impact of the stunning Santa Monica beaches, the bright apartment, and the free spirits of the individuals who reside in both resonated within the gray and dark state I’ve come to be in.

2. The power of positivity is unrivaled. From the producers of American Ninja warriors, to the community of “ninjas,” everyone I encountered on my trip spread nothing but smiles in this soul of mine. Their passion for the challenges, their will to train, and the joy they had in creating and participating in the show, was truly remarkable.While this community left me with tips on improving my parkour abilities, I also left with a newfound motivation to master my craft and passion. (PS. The episode will be airing on May 26 at 8pm on NBC)

3. I am one lucky gal. With a bundled coach and coach’s wife in the wind surrounded stands on Venice Beach at 4am and an outpouring of messages and notes sending good luck wishes, I am convinced my friends and family have more love in those mushy hearts of theirs than anyone else in this world…but maybe that’s just the love I have for them.

4. The ability to be alone is a necessary one. A 6-hour drive each way, an empty loft, and a city full of strangers can unsteady even the most self-assured of humans. But rather than fearing the self-reflection, presence of the moment, and quiet air of solitude, one can gain so much in accepting aloneness in all of it’s uncomfortableness. To quote J. Krishnamurti:

“There is an aloneness which is not this loneliness, this sense of isolation. That state of aloneness is not a remembrance or a recognition; it is untouched by the mind, by the word, by the society, by tradition. It is a benediction.”

samantha wright

HELLO. i'm samantha wright, a woman living in phoneix, arizona in pursuit of dreams as a weightlifter with an overabundance of passion for strength, health, art, culture, music, psychology studies, fashion, and beautiful things.

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